Following a cholesterol lowering diet is important, as your diet to control high cholesterol is as important for lowering your cholesterol as doing lots of exercise.

You can avoid the high cholesterol symptoms and effects of high cholesterol by following a few simple cholesterol guidelines, and avoiding foods high in cholesterol in favor of low cholesterol foods is important.

You can find ways of naturally lowering cholesterol with cholesterol lowering foods, and a diet to lower high cholesterol will be the secret to your success.

What are Some High Cholesterol Symptoms?

Before getting into some of the foods that you need to eat in your cholesterol lowering diet, it is important to know what the various high cholesterol symptoms are.

In reality, there will not be too many indications that you have high cholesterol, as it is not something that causes visible results. You won’t suddenly turn purple, your foot won’t turn into a Godzilla foot, and you won’t sprout giant acne from your face.

A Few Extra Pounds Might Indicate a Problem with High Cholesterol

However, one good indication that you may have high cholesterol is the inner tube around your midsection. Those that have a few extra pounds in places where they shouldn’t are usually the ones with high cholesterol, as the extra weight means more fat in their body due to improper diet and lack of exercise.

The obesity is the visible symptom of the high fat content in your body, and high cholesterol levels are the invisible but very dangerous symptoms.

Chest Pains May Mean Too Much Cholesterol in Your Body

If there is too much cholesterol in your body, one of the most common symptoms that you will experience is probably going to be chest pains.

When your body can’t circulate enough blood through your body, it causes pains in your heart due to the fact that your poor heart is working double time to try to get blood through your body.

You will probably feel minor pains at first, though the pains may eventually develop into sharp, agonizing pains known as heart attacks.

If It Runs in the Family

Many people need to be aware of these high cholesterol symptoms, especially if their family has a history of heart disease.

Those older than 40 years old are already at risk of high cholesterol and heart problems, and those that smoke, drink too much, and have high blood pressure have a much higher chance of serious problems developing.

Keeping an eye on your weight can help you to be wary of potential problems.

Effects of High Cholesterol

If you notice that your body is getting overweight, it is important to get tested for high cholesterol and start yourself on a cholesterol lowering diet before things get out of hand.

If you don’t following a diet to control high cholesterol, you may end up with some of the serious effects of high cholesterol:

Angina – Angina is the fancy medical term for chest pain, but it is also one of the side effects of high cholesterol. As mentioned above, it is both a symptom and a side effect, as the cholesterol clots prevent the blood from reaching the heart and causes pain.

Stroke – When the cholesterol accumulates along the walls of your arteries, it tends to oxidize and harden into a plaque-like substance. When too much plaque forms, it can prevent the blood from flowing properly through the arteries. When there is a clot around the brain, the blood vessels trying to feed blood to your brain cannot get through the blockage. Your brain basically dies a little bit when it can’t get oxygen, and this is a stroke.

Heart attack – A heart attack is basically the same thing as a stroke, with the only difference being that the clot forms in one of the blood vessels pumping blood to your heart instead of to your brain. Either way, it can be as potentially fatal and as incredibly serious as a stroke is.

Arrhythmias – When your heart has to work overtime to pump blood through your arteries and veins due to the blockages or constricted passageways, there is often the risk that arrhythmias will set in. Arrhythmias is basically your heart beating a strange beat, as it hard to work harder and pump extra to get enough blood to the entire body.

High blood pressure – The constriction and obstruction of the blood vessels forces your hard to work extra hard to get the blood running through your veins properly, and thus your heart will start to get more tired due to the high blood pressure. High blood pressure is a serious problem that can lead to a heart attack or heart failure, and is something that should be avoided at all costs.

Atherosclerosis – Atherosclerosis is the name given to the condition when your veins and arteries narrow. Normally the walls of your blood vessels are flexible and can move, but atherosclerosis causes them to get very stiff and constricted. Your blood won’t be able to pass through the vessels, and the risk of cracks appearing is much higher. Atherosclerosis can either block the blood vessels partially or completely, but it is very serious either way.

Peripheral artery disease – If you have a clot or a blockage in a certain part of your body – usually your extremities or the periphery – this is known as peripheral artery disease. This means that the arteries feeding blood to your legs, arms, or other extremity are blocked, meaning that your limb isn’t getting enough blood. This can result in serious muscle atrophy or other damage.

These are just a few of the effects of high cholesterol, but it is important to be very aware that any of these effects can result in death. Preventing these side effects by following a cholesterol lowering diet is of the utmost importance if you want to live a long and happy life.

Cholesterol Lowering Diet: Cholesterol Guidelines

Do you want some cholesterol guidelines that can help you to know what to eat, how much of certain things to add to your diet, and how to remain healthy and keep your cholesterol levels low?

Read on…

1. Cut Down on Saturated Fat

Saturated fat is the kind of fat that causes heart disease, so it is important that you keep your consumption of saturated fats to as low a level as possible.

Lower than 7% of your daily total caloric intake is the recommended amount.

2. Reduce Trans Fats

Trans fats are just as bad as saturated fats, but they are found in oils and processed foods instead of dairy products.

Cut down the amount of foods you consume that contain these trans fats, as they are directly linked to heart problems and high cholesterol.

3. Limit Plyunsaturated Fats

Polyunsaturated fats are usually found in natural oils made from seeds, and these fats can be good for you in limited amounts.

If you can consume no more than 10% of your daily caloric intake in the form of these fats, you should be able to keep your LDL cholesterol very low.

4. Keep Monounsaturated Fats Controlled

Monounsaturated fats are also found in natural oils, and these fats can be beneficial for your body if you keep consumption limited.

The recommended amount of these fats that you should eat is 20%, but it should be balanced out to ensure that you are getting very limited amounts of fat in your diet.

5. Limit All Fats

The total amount of your diet that should be fats is between 25 and 35 percent, though it is always best to stay towards the lower end of this number.

6. Increase Your Fiber Intake

If you can get at least 20 to 30 grams of fiber on a daily basis, you can bet that your body will naturally be able to get rid of the cholesterol on its own.

It will be hard to consume this much fiber, but it is the most effective way to get rid of all the nasty cholesterol.

7. Consume the Right Amount of Calories

This is one of the most important things to keep in mind as you are planning your cholesterol lowering diet: your total caloric intake should be lower than the amount you burn.

If you consume more calories than you burn, your body will store the excess as fat. If you consume less than you burn, your body will dip into the reserves of fat around the body, and will burn up your cholesterol.

Make sure that you know exactly how many calories your body needs to be healthy, and try to consume at least 500 calories fewer than that number.

These are a few cholesterol guidelines to help you stay healthy and have a long and happy life.

Your Diet to Lower High Cholesterol

If you want to follow a true cholesterol lowering diet, you will have to figure out which foods are the best to eat. Here are some tips to help you with your diet to lower high cholesterol:

Eat more fish. Fish is one of the best things that you can eat, as it is very rich in protein, contains very little fat when compared to meat, usually contains Omega 3 and other fatty acids, and contains more minerals and nutrients than meat. Eating more fish will help you to remain healthy.

Start cooking properly. Rather than deep frying foods, slathering your bread with butter, and eating a lot of foods that are processed or refined, start cooking healthy foods to eat. Focus on eating more whole grains, and stop eating full fat dairy products when low fat will do.

Plan your diet. If you want to succeed with any diet, you have to be sure that you are getting the right foods in the right amounts. You have to actually plan your diet in order to succeed, as that is the only way that you will be able to truly control the amounts of food that you are eating.

Make the right choices. Rather than reaching for a delicious, sugary snack, why not grab a piece of fruit for snack? Better yet, replace snacks with a nice green shake or a glass of water, and always make the healthy choice to avoid high cholesterol.

Want more tips on how to lower cholesterol and stay faithful to your diet? Check out the Low Fat Low Cholesterol Diet page for more information…

Cholesterol Lowering Diet: Foods to Avoid High Cholesterol

If you want to stay healthy, you will need to eat foods that will help to keep your cholesterol in check.

There are certain foods to avoid high cholesterol, and these foods will be very effective at helping you limit the amount of LDL cholesterol that remains in your body.

Make sure that you keep nuts and dried fruits as a healthy snack, and toss all the junk food from your pantry in favor of these healthy snacks.

Always have a bowl of oats to get your day started, as oats contain lots of soluble fiber that will help your body to get rid of all those unhealthy LDL particles.

Use egg substitute or egg whites to cook your meals in place of whole eggs.

Use vegetables in place of creamy sauces, or use tomato sauce for pastas.

Switch out a spoonful of white vinegar instead of butter for keeping the moisture in your pan.

Use green spices and herbs instead of butter, cream, and milk.

These are a few foods that you can use to help you as you follow a cholesterol lowering diet, and these will be an excellent addition to your diet to control high cholesterol.

Foods High in Cholesterol

Now that you know what foods you should eat, let’s take a look at a few foods you should stay away from:

Meat

Butter

Cooking Oil

Ice Cream

Full Fat Dairy

Egg Yolks

Shrimp

Organ meats

Fish eggs

Fried foods

Fast food

Oily fish

Cheese

Processed meats

Shellfish

These foods are all going to have a negative effect on your cholesterol level, so it is best to avoid these foods in your cholesterol lowering diet in order to prevent health and heart problems.

List of Low Cholesterol Foods

Want a list of the best foods that you can eat?

Here are some of the low cholesterol foods that you should try to get as much of as possible:

All fruits

All vegetables

All legumes

Low fat dairy

Soy products

Oats

Nuts and seeds

Spices and green herbs

Whole grains

Natural oils

These are the foods that you should try to get more of, but you would do well to visit your doctor or a nutritionist if you are trying to control your cholesterol. By eating these low cholesterol foods in their correct amounts, you can be sure that you are as healthy as possible.

Cholesterol Lowering Diet: Some Cholesterol Lowering Foods

If you are in a pinch and you need to lower cholesterol with a cholesterol lowering diet, there are certain foods that will be very effective at getting rid of your cholesterol.

Here are three of the best cholesterol lowering foods you can eat:

1. Oats

Oats contain lots of soluble fiber, and everyone knows that the cholesterol particles stick to the fiber particles and are eliminated by the body.

Eating a bowl of oats in the morning will help to keep your body as cholesterol free as possible, and will seriously lower your LDL cholesterol while raising your HDL cholesterol.

2. Seeds and Nuts

Most of the seeds and nuts that you can eat will be incredibly good for your health, and will be very effective at helping to lower your cholesterol.

Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts, cashews and all the rest contain natural oils that will boost your body’s production of HDL cholesterol.

3. Fish

There are certain kinds of fish that contain lots of Omega 3 fatty acids, and these acids will help to dispose of all the triglycerides in your body.

Omega 3 helps to reduce your risk of heart diease and stroke as a result of its ability to prevent blood clots, so it is best to eat as much as possible of these things in order to stay healthy.

Tips for Naturally Lowering Cholesterol

Want some tips on how to lower cholesterol as naturally as possible?

Cut back on your salt consumption

Eat lots of raw foods

Check labels carefully to see ingredients

Switch up your diet

Avoid snacking at all costs

Do more exercise

Cut back on stress

Stop smoking once and for all

Eat less meat

Don’t use cooking oil

These are just a few tips that can help you with your cholesterol lowering diet.